I can’t believe I’m part of this Baton Blog Hop. I tend to shy away from these, but my friend Beverley Bateman twisted my arm. (And she seems like such a nice person.)

Bev, a member of Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, writes romantic suspense and medical thrillers. She lives in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Beverley has an extensive background in nursing that helps keep her medical thrillers “real”. Bev’s current release is A Cruise to Remember. Visit Beverley at http://www.beverleybateman.blogspot.com

On to the jobs for today. Bev charged me with answering 4 questions and coercing 2 people to carry the batons for them and blog, and so on, and so on.

My First Job, answering 4 questions

What am I working on?

I am working to get a book ready for my editor. It’s called Protecting Melissa, for now.Melissa encounters Gabe, the man she idolized when she was a kid and he was her older brother’s best friend. When Gabe learns someone slashed the tires on Melissa’s classic Mustang, he knows he must protect her until her family returns.

How does my work differ from others in this genre?

It’s romantic suspense with all the usual elements, but the danger begins as a threat to make a teacher a laughing stock and cost her her job by slandering her on the Internet. My choice of villains will shock readers, I hope.

Why do I write what I write?

The voices in my head don’t give me much choice! Besides, I love to make readers wonder and not be able to guess everything by the end of Chapter 1. I like bad guys who don’t fit any mold, like my heroes and heroines don’t fit molds.

How does your writing process work? I get an idea and then make notes or let an idea percolate in my mind while I drive or wash dishes or toss laundry into my washer. When I can’t stand the pressure from a character or characters, I sit at my computer and start typing scenes. I toss a name on the page and tell that character to spill his guts or stop belly aching about wanting a damned book. If I get stuck, I threaten to toss that book if someone doesn’t speak up. Or I ask what new awful thing I can do to a character.

I’d love for you to check out Protective Instincts http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EGE93CC/

I am passing the baton to Linda Nightingale will post on her blog before April 6 and Diane Wylie will post on her own blog on Monday, April 7th.

Linda Nightingale, my friend for more than 20 years

Born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Atlanta and Houston. She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for thirteen years.

Linda began writing in high school when her favorite English teacher, Mrs. Burriss, allowed her to submit a short story instead of a book report. The first novel she wrote and the book of her heart Sinners’ Opera is nominated for a RONE award. Her latest release is Cardinal Desires, a winner of the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award.

Multipublished, award-winning romance author, Diane Wylie, loves books that will take her on an emotional roller coaster ride. What better genre than romance to do that? Adventure, passion, and intrigue are her favorite aspects of any book.

She has four historical romances published, Adam’s Treasure, Secrets and Sacrifices, Jenny’s Passion, and Lila’s Vow, along with short story, “A Soldier to Love.” Readers and reviewers alike love her stories. Lila’s Vow won a 2010 Reviewer’s Choice Award from Two Lips Reviews, was voted Best Book of the Week on November 30, 2009 by Long and Short Reviews, and garnered the

2009 Coffee Time Recommended Read Award from Coffee Time Reviews.

Her first series, The Mark of the Magician, is a paranormal/fantasy romance series featuring magicians whose powers each come from mysterious amulets, but at a price. Book One is Moonlight and Illusions, Book Two is Magic of the Pentacle, and Book Three (to come) is Magic at the Roxy.

She also has two short pieces, A Soldier to Love and Prelude to Magic available for the Kindle and Nook.

Diane makes her home in Maryland with her husband, a former racecar driver; her son; and her crazy Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy. She loves to visit her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren as often as possible.